GOP Congressman Warns of Mexican Marijuana Nukes

This article was produced in collaboration with AlterNet and first appeared here.

An Arizona Republican congressman has defended the notion of building a border wall by claiming it could prevent a nuclear weapon being smuggled into the United States concealed in a bale of marijuana.

Rep. Trent Franks (R-AZ) made the comments Wednesday in a discussion with CNN's Brianna Keilar about President Trump's proposed $21 billion border barrier.

"The reality, Brianna, is that we have to measure all of the costs, ancillary and otherwise, and make the best decision that we can. But I can suggest to you that there are national security implications here for a porous border. We sometimes used to make the point that if someone wanted to smuggle in a dangerous weapon, even a nuclear weapon, into America, how would they do it? And the suggestion was made, 'Well, we'll simply hide it in a bale of marijuana,'" Franks said.

"So the implications of a porous border have national security dimensions that are very significant and that bear a lot of conversation when we talk about costs," he said.

Franks pointed to no evidence of loose nuclear weapons floating around Mexico, nor did he explain why presumed nuke-smugglers would choose to try to hide their weapon in something the US Border Patrol is already looking for, as opposed to, say, a semi-trailer truck going through a port of entry with a load of legal commodities or a boat simply sailing into the Houston Ship Channel.

Still, the Mexican marijuana nuke threat is one that Franks has addressed before. As his website notes, he raised the specter of Hezbollah smuggling marijuana nukes into the US in a House floor speech back in 2012.

"Specifically imagine for a moment, Mr. Speaker, the scenario of Hezbollah, one of Iran's terrorist proxies, gaining possession of just two nuclear warheads and bringing them across the border into the United States concealed, say, in bales of marijuana," he said, "then transporting them into the heart of two different, crowded, unnamed cities. Then calling and telling the White House exactly when and where the first one will be detonated, and then following through 60 seconds later."

That's right: Hezbollah is going to attack us with nuclear bombs hidden inside bales of Mexican brick weed. You can't make this stuff up.

...it sure didn't take long for Trump's promise of building a border wall "and Mexico WILL PAY FOR IT!" to morph into "We will build a wall and Mexico will pay for it in tarriffs" to Trump asking Congress for money to build his wall & "we''l find a way to make Mexico to pay us back". Face it, if this monument to Trump's failed policy ideas is ultimately built, American taxpayers will end up paying for it. The current walls that are in place have shown not to be effective at keeping people & contraband out. Here's a better way: Most where this wall would be built is along the Texas border. Texas is home to one of the largest army bases in the US -Ft. Hood. We already pay for troops to train for desert operations there within Texas. Why not rotate these same troops to patrol this vast open country, acting as the eyes & ears in coordination with the Border Patrol, who would conduct the actual arrests & deportation of those caught. Sure, there will be cries that this would make it "open season" for our military to shoot illegal imigrants. It is not. The resources are already in place. They're already paid for. They would continue training to operate in desert conditions. This, to me, makes great sense. An expensive, ineffective wall does not.

PS- Brianna Keilar is smoking-hot pretty! She could read me the Hong Kong phone directory and I'd nod in agreement like a bobble head doll...